The Federal Supreme Court ruled last Friday that the operation of the Catholic girls' school St Katharina violates religious freedom.

The St Katharina secondary school in Wil is a Catholic, all-girls school. Its Christian character is reflected, among other things, in the range of church services and pilgrimages that the pupils can attend voluntarily. Although the school is owned by a private foundation, it is subsidised by the city of Wil and fulfils a public task by running the school. The city had wanted to negotiate a new contract with the school that would have allowed boys and secondary school pupils to attend St. Katharina in future. However, the contract failed in the city parliament.

Two private individuals and the Junge Grüne Wil-Fürstenland  have now lodged a complaint. They are arguing on two counts: firstly, a state-subsidised school should not be denominational and secondly, it should not only admit girls - freedom of religion and the prohibition of discrimination are being violated. The Federal Supreme Court has now ruled in their favour. The panel of judges ruled narrowly by three votes to two.